Salma

Salma was raised in a Muslim community in India. A community that doesn’t allow women to have any role in public life as soon as they begin menstruating. Salma hid her menstrual cycle from her family for as long as possible, defiant in trying to escape the life of women she had witnessed growing up. Since birth, Salma had been shunned by her family. Her mother had to give her up as her religiously strict father had no interest in a female child. This only help grow Salma’s determination to break away from the mundane life of a Muslim female.

After finally being tricked into marriage, Salma began writing poetry about her life with her possessive husband - who once threatened to burn her with acid. She would hide notebooks and pens so he couldn’t find out. Director Kim Longinotto truly captures the heartache of Salma’s existence. There never seems to be a loving word or gesture between the couple, only an understanding that they have to live their lives as best they can and raise their children in a loving environment. When Salma’s poetry is published and she becomes a politician; it begins to dawn on her husband that Salma has a voice that needs to be heard.

The entire film is told in past tense focusing on Salma’s return to the village she grew up in. She is welcomed with open arms by the women, not so much by the men. A few of the town’s men have made their peace with Salma, but she is still regarded as a controversial figure. Longinotto’s portrait of Salma is a fine piece of work that gets to the heart of a situation that still plagues a lot of Muslim communities to this very day. Hopefully with documentaries like this, more will open their eyes.